Managing Brand Assets (Phase 5)

Overview

Phase 5 is protecting and sustaining the brand after the identity is designed: rolling out change, launching, turning employees into champions, and governing consistency through guidelines and online brand centers. It requires enlightened leadership and a long-term commitment. The mandate to build the brand must come from the top — but the brand must ignite your employees first.

When to use

• Introducing a new name/identity to an existing organization or to merged entities (harder than branding a new company).
• Planning a launch, an internal-then-external rollout, or an employee engagement program.
• Standing up an online brand center, DAM, or writing guidelines / a brand book.
• Hand off to earlier-phase skills for research, strategy, or designing the identity itself — Phase 5 assumes those are done.

Changing brand assets

Implementation requires vigilant strategic focus, advance planning, and obsession with detail. Typically the director of marketing/PR oversees the change; larger orgs may retain a dedicated implementer. Skills needed: branding, PR, communications, identity design, production, organizational management.

Key pre-launch questions: Who needs to know? What do they need to know? Why? Does the change affect them? How and when will they find out?

Name-change essentials: a sound reason is the first and most critical step; the change must have potential to enhance public perception, recognition, recruitment, customer relations, and partnerships; accept that there will be resistance; keep momentum with an air of excitement; targeted messages are better but cost more.

Key beliefs: a strategic focus centers on the brand; go internal before you go external; once is never enough — tell them, tell them again, then tell them again; you need to sell a new name and build meaning; a mega-launch means less chance for confusion; an identity program is more than a new name or logo.